Kutztown University Angler Corey Bechtel Earns Spot on National Stage

2014 Dec 3

KU sophomore Corey Bechtel has earned a spot in the prestigious Forrest Wood Cup Bass Tournament, August 20-23, 2015, on Lake Ouachita in Hot Springs, Ark. The tournament is the nation's premiere bass event featuring the top 45 pros and co-anglers in the nation.

Bechtel qualified for the event with a 9th place finish last month in the Wheeler Lake Invitational, Wheeler Lake, Ala., where he caught a three day total weight of 15.08 pounds. He competes as a co-angler.

Bechtel, a leisure and sport studies major from Macungie , PA (18062), has been fishing since the age of 5 and competing in tournaments since he was 12. He won the Pa. junior league state championship in 2010 and 2011.

"I played some football in middle school and the beginning of high school but I knew it wasn't what I really wanted to do," said Bechtel. "I knew I wanted to be a competitive bass fisherman."

Bechtel competes in the co-angler category, meaning he fishes on the back of a professional's boat. There is only one co-angler in each boat and they must adjust their style of fishing depending on the style being used by the professional who operates the boat and fishes at the bow. Bechtel looks forward to the day when he will own the right type of equipment to be able to compete on the professional level. A basic boat can run $60,000 before adding any of the attachments needed such as sonar.

In multiple day tournaments each fisherman catches a five fish daily limit which is then weighed and added to their cumulative weight. The process is complicated and dependent on the temperature, wind, the geography of the water and even the phases of the moon.

"Bass love cover and structure and they react to changes in the weather so as an angler you need to be able to adjust to those changes and use the proper technique to lure them out," he said. "Also when live food supplies are plentiful the lure is less tempting. There are many factors involved."

The fish caught, in most cases, must be at least 12 inches long and the competitor can enter the top five fish caught by weight. Being a conservation sport all fish must remain alive in a holding tank and are released back into the water after being weighed.

Bechtel says the local bass season runs March through Nov. He fishes salmon or steelheads in the alternate months. He also travels south where bass can be caught year round.

For more information on the Forrest Wood Cup visit http://www.flwoutdoors.com/bassfishing/flw/tournament/2015/7323/forrest-wood-cup-details/